ADVERTORIAL
Make yourself at home with Leitz Cosy
Supplying the modern office –
WHEREVER IT IS
Anticipating and responding to industry trends at an early stage has stood ACCO Brands in good stead and allowed it to offer customers the products that they need right now
A
www.opi.net
s demand for products in the business supplies sector has fluctuated wildly in this pandemic year, ACCO Brands EMEA has been steady in offering solutions to the challenges its customers have encountered. OPI spoke to SVP of Marketing Arild Olsen about the products that have helped these consumers to manage and thrive in what has been uncharted territory in many ways.
52
OPI: It’s been a testing 2020 for all the obvious reasons. What has been your experience over the past ten months or so? Arild Olsen: ACCO Brands EMEA’s performance pre-COVID was very strong but, like all businesses, the company was hit by the global pandemic in March 2020. All markets were affected to different degrees, but pretty much in line with the spread of the virus. Thankfully, we were able to continue serving our customers during this difficult period due to our flexible organisational set-up and robust supply chain. Measures were put into place quickly to ensure the safety of our employees, and all our distribution centres remained open at all times. We have also benefitted from our very broad product portfolio and years of focus on anticipating and responding to upcoming trends such as working from home.
Leitz IQ: one of ACCO Brands’ shredders for the small and home office
OPI: ACCO’s product portfolio is huge. Where have you seen the highest growth versus perhaps a tailing off in demand? AO: Rather than a drop-off in demand for specific categories, we have seen an adjustment in the mix of products – that’s probably the best way of putting it. In the business machines segment, which includes shredders and laminators, for instance, we are selling far more smaller machines. Shredders like the Leitz IQ and Rexel Momentum are perfect for working at home and ensuring that data protection and GDPR guidelines are still being met by employees. We’ve had fantastic feedback for these products. The need for temporary signage in a wide range of environments has also meant a big uptick in the demand for laminators and their accessories, both at home – with the Leitz WOW model for example – or in the office where our innovative GBC Foton Automatic Laminator is very popular. In addition, and again with signage solutions in mind, our visual communications brand Nobo has generated great demand. We have also developed a completely new category of Nobo divider products to enable businesses such as restaurants and offices to address social distancing requirements and to continue trading. Other items that are very sought after are computer accessories – we see huge demand for these solutions. We’ve made considerable investments in keyboards, mice, docking stations and ergonomic products under the Kensington brand. With people now much more conscious about a healthy workspace – at home or in the office – our Leitz TruSens Air Purifiers have seen remarkable success. As people spend more time at home, we have seen great demand for storage solutions such as Leitz MyBox and Click & Store which both fit perfectly in the home environment as well as the modern office. At the same time, our Rapid DIY tools as well as our fine art pencils from Derwent have seen further growth and popularity. OPI: Before we talk more about this new hybrid workforce, I wanted to ask you about the topic of sustainability. Has that taken a backseat at all, in among more pressing issues?
